Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
Re: Academic Appeal
I am a fourth year student B.A. (Hons) student with a major in Politics and a minor in Mathematics. I am appealing to: (1) drop POLS 313 (Fall 2016), STAT 465 (Fall 2016); and POLS 590 (Fall 2016/Winter 2017) and (2) obtain aegrotat standing in POLS 384 (Fall 2016).
I have over the past five years suffered approximately four significant concussions with serious health impacts. Unfortunately, last semester in November 2016 I was struck by a volleyball and suffered another severe concussion. I was at the time enrolled in the four courses (which included my honours thesis POLS 590) identified above. My plan had been to complete my fourth year and apply for graduate work in political science/international relations. Prior to my concussion, I was doing well in my courses and was on track to complete them. After receiving the concussion in November, and realizing I could no longer attend classes and do any work, I spoke with my professors and was given Incompletes in my courses, with the plan to complete them during the Winter semester.
I returned home to Nova Scotia in November, and returned to Queen¿¿s in January. Upon my return in Winter semester, I had hoped to complete my fall semester courses in the first several weeks, but due to my concussion symptoms I was unable to do so. For example, I wrote one exam for POLS 384 during the first week of classes in January, and then was not able to do anything else in any capacity for the remainder of the month. I suffer from daily headaches, dizziness, and problems with concentration. As well, because of the concussion I have also been dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts. As such, every attempt I have made to work on my outstanding coursework has been unsuccessful, and causes my symptoms to increase substantially. Working for just half an hour results in me spending the next several days in bed in substantial pain. As well, while I hoped to be able to finish work on and finish my thesis this semester, I have been unable to put any work into it since November when I was hit in the head. Thus my ability to complete my coursework in the planned time frame has been severely affected by my concussion symptoms.
At this time, I have completed 70 of the coursework for POLS 384 and have done well on the completed work. Despite leaving school in November I was still given a participation mark, although one lower than it would have been if I was not injured. All that remains in the course is a second research paper. I am appealing for aegrotat standing to help reduce the number of courses I need to take next year, which will be hugely beneficial if there are some residual concussion symptoms.
I have seen a number of doctors in the last six months after receiving this recent concussion, both in Halifax and Kingston. I have met with Dr. O¿¿Connor at the KOPI clinic as well as Dr. Butt at LaSalle. Both have advised me to withdraw from classes as much as possible to give my brain time to recover. As well, I have begun to meet with a therapist to help with the mental illness side of my symptoms and she agrees that I need to take some time off from school through the summer to really focus on my recovery. I have notes from both Dr. O¿¿Connor and Dr. Butt to document the severe effects this concussion has had on my ability to complete my courses (attached).
Moving forward, I plan to use the four months this summer free of any coursework to really focus on my recovery. Then, I will return to Queen¿¿s in the fall and re-take the courses I was unable to complete this year, and to complete my thesis. I will continue to see doctors regularly to monitor my condition and to ensure that when I do return to classes that I am ready and will able to complete them successfully. As well, if I am given aegrotat standing for POLS 384, then I will only need to take 12.0 credits each semester to complete my honours degree, which will give me a better chance of being successful in the courses I will be enrolled in if there are any residual concussion symptoms.
Re: Academic Appeal
I am a fourth year student B.A. (Hons) student with a major in Politics and a minor in Mathematics. I am appealing to: (1) drop POLS 313 (Fall 2016), STAT 465 (Fall 2016); and POLS 590 (Fall 2016/Winter 2017) and (2) obtain aegrotat standing in POLS 384 (Fall 2016).
I have over the past five years suffered approximately four significant concussions with serious health impacts. Unfortunately, last semester in November 2016 I was struck by a volleyball and suffered another severe concussion. I was at the time enrolled in the four courses (which included my honours thesis POLS 590) identified above. My plan had been to complete my fourth year and apply for graduate work in political science/international relations. Prior to my concussion, I was doing well in my courses and was on track to complete them. After receiving the concussion in November, and realizing I could no longer attend classes and do any work, I spoke with my professors and was given Incompletes in my courses, with the plan to complete them during the Winter semester.
I returned home to Nova Scotia in November, and returned to Queen¿¿s in January. Upon my return in Winter semester, I had hoped to complete my fall semester courses in the first several weeks, but due to my concussion symptoms I was unable to do so. For example, I wrote one exam for POLS 384 during the first week of classes in January, and then was not able to do anything else in any capacity for the remainder of the month. I suffer from daily headaches, dizziness, and problems with concentration. As well, because of the concussion I have also been dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts. As such, every attempt I have made to work on my outstanding coursework has been unsuccessful, and causes my symptoms to increase substantially. Working for just half an hour results in me spending the next several days in bed in substantial pain. As well, while I hoped to be able to finish work on and finish my thesis this semester, I have been unable to put any work into it since November when I was hit in the head. Thus my ability to complete my coursework in the planned time frame has been severely affected by my concussion symptoms.
At this time, I have completed 70 of the coursework for POLS 384 and have done well on the completed work. Despite leaving school in November I was still given a participation mark, although one lower than it would have been if I was not injured. All that remains in the course is a second research paper. I am appealing for aegrotat standing to help reduce the number of courses I need to take next year, which will be hugely beneficial if there are some residual concussion symptoms.
I have seen a number of doctors in the last six months after receiving this recent concussion, both in Halifax and Kingston. I have met with Dr. O¿¿Connor at the KOPI clinic as well as Dr. Butt at LaSalle. Both have advised me to withdraw from classes as much as possible to give my brain time to recover. As well, I have begun to meet with a therapist to help with the mental illness side of my symptoms and she agrees that I need to take some time off from school through the summer to really focus on my recovery. I have notes from both Dr. O¿¿Connor and Dr. Butt to document the severe effects this concussion has had on my ability to complete my courses (attached).
Moving forward, I plan to use the four months this summer free of any coursework to really focus on my recovery. Then, I will return to Queen¿¿s in the fall and re-take the courses I was unable to complete this year, and to complete my thesis. I will continue to see doctors regularly to monitor my condition and to ensure that when I do return to classes that I am ready and will able to complete them successfully. As well, if I am given aegrotat standing for POLS 384, then I will only need to take 12.0 credits each semester to complete my honours degree, which will give me a better chance of being successful in the courses I will be enrolled in if there are any residual concussion symptoms.